Advertisement
Advertisement
sustain
[ suh-steyn ]
verb (used with object)
- to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
Synonyms: carry
- to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
- to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
Synonyms: bear
- to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
- to keep up or keep going, as an action or process:
to sustain a conversation.
Synonyms: maintain
- to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.
- to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.
- to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.
- to uphold as valid, just, or correct, as a claim or the person making it:
The judge sustained the lawyer's objection.
- to confirm or corroborate, as a statement:
Further investigation sustained my suspicions.
sustain
/ səˈsteɪn; səˈsteɪnɪdlɪ /
verb
- to hold up under; withstand
to sustain great provocation
- to undergo (an injury, loss, etc); suffer
to sustain a broken arm
- to maintain or prolong
to sustain a discussion
- to support physically from below
- to provide for or give support to, esp by supplying necessities
to sustain one's family
to sustain a charity
- to keep up the vitality or courage of
- to uphold or affirm the justice or validity of
to sustain a decision
- to establish the truth of; confirm
noun
- music the prolongation of a note, by playing technique or electronics
Derived Forms
- susˈtained, adjective
- sustainedly, adverb
- susˈtainment, noun
- susˈtaining, adjective
- susˈtainingly, adverb
Other Words From
- sus·tain·a·ble adjective
- sus·tain·ing·ly adverb
- sus·tain·ment noun
- non·sus·tain·ing adjective
- un·sus·tain·ing adjective
Word History and Origins
Word History and Origins
Origin of sustain1
Example Sentences
To be sure, Russia’s economic ability to sustain its expansionism is questionable.
In some countries, officials are concerned not only that Facebook and Google are capturing much of the advertising dollars that have sustained journalism, but also with the types of articles getting shared.
The idea is that prices will only face sustained upward pressure when the economy is using all its resources –- including labor.
We’re trying to make enough for food, to sustain our households.
Earlier, in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, dinosaurs roamed Antarctica because enhanced volcanic activity, in the absence of those mountain chains, sustained carbon dioxide levels around 1,000 parts per million, compared to 415 ppm today.
They took me in and helped sustain me in the days that followed.
A winning team may pack the stadium, but you need that packed stadium to get top recruits and sustain victories.
How long can they sustain this momentum without falling victim to the same pitfalls as nearly every other long-running series?
Those were the very ills that you wanted to defeat, not help sustain.
Duhozanye has the land and the need, but lacks the $300,000 it will cost to build and sustain.
She was therefore prepared to sustain her part in the drama Routemberg was bringing on the tapis.
The ability to sustain the tone for a long time will increase, and with it the power of the muscles exercised.
Whenever a marriage can be set aside for some illegality, and is not, it will sustain her dower on his death.
Previous to this hour the Girondists had wished to sustain the throne, and merely to surround it with free institutions.
Those required to sustain life and preserve decency, besides other things to maintain her in her social condition.
Advertisement
When To Use
What are other ways to say sustain?
To sustain a claim or an idea is to uphold it as valid, just or correct. How does sustain differ from the synonyms maintain, support, or uphold? Find out on Thesaurus.com.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse